The Morning After
by Coshie
Summary: In which Shinon is drunk and can't remember his night. Gatrie/Shinon. Rated for rather blunt language about sexual themes.


A/N: Ay-yi-yi. I'm sorry for writing this. :c I usually don't write yaoi. But... Iunno, the idea came, and who am I to say "no" to inspiration? :P I'm hoping I kept them both mostly in character. Maa... we'll see. x)  
Gatrie/Shinon. Enjoy.

* * *

_The Morning After_

He was drunk. Again.

Shinon pushed himself away from the bar, falling backwards out of his barstool. "Urgh." He stared at the ceiling. That's funny…. He only remembered a single light fixture above him. Why were there three?

"C'mon buddy." A voice broke through his musings on the sudden appearance of extra light fixtures as strong hands hauled him to his feet.

"Grauh, geroff," Shinon managed, pushing away, falling against his abandoned barstool. Yes. He was very drunk.

"Shinon, yer drunk." That voice again. Even when disgraced by the effects of alcohol, Shinon couldn't ignore the subconscious thought that that voice was beautiful. It always had been. No; he stopped that train of thought. A sober thought came to him: that was why he was drinking. To try to rid himself of the feelings he knew would never be returned.

"So're you," the redhead slurred finally, straightening as best he could.

"We're goin' home, al'righ', Shinon?"

"No. More ale!" Shinon pounded his fist on the bar. He was still conscious. He hadn't had enough to drink yet.

"No more ale." It was funny. Shinon attempted to focus on the tanned features of his friend. His face swam in and out of focus. It was funny that he could say the same words but with the opposite meaning. Was he doing that on purpose? Was he trying to confuse Shinon? Ah, that must be it!

"Yer… it'sh not gunna work!" Shinon insisted, pushing against his companion's chest. "Ya can't confush me! Don' y' know who I am? I'm Shinon!"

"Shin--- what're ya--- c'mon." Without another word, the hands were on his shoulders, steering him away from the bar and out into the warm night.

Gatrie rubbed his head, trying to clear the haze that alcohol had brought on. He had probably only had a drink or two – a fraction of Shinon's intake, he was sure – but was inhibited nonetheless. To some degree, he had admired Shinon's ability to deal with alcohol.

"Didja shee tha' floozy at th' bar?" Shinon demanded with a hiccup, trying to focus on Gatrie's face, but instead his eyes found a spot six inches to the right of their target. "She couldn' shtop lookin' at me!"

Gatrie sighed. Or maybe he wasn't so envious.

He put an arm around Shinon's waist, placing one of the archer's around his shoulders. He doubted that Shinon could remember the way back, let alone walk in a straight line. But maybe he just wanted to hold the redhead. He knew Shinon would walk if he had to. But any excuse to be closer to the other man, Gatrie would take. He smiled a little as Shinon fell into him, hand gripping Gatrie's far shoulder.

Both blushing and neither noticing, they started down the street.

By the time they arrived back at the base, Shinon was half-asleep. He wouldn't be fully aware of himself until the next morning.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

He had woken up naked before. It was not uncommon for him – or anyone else – to sleep in the nude during the hot Crimean summers. Of course he had his own room – with a lock – so there was rarely a problem of anyone catching him unawares.

But this morning was different, Shinon could tell within seconds of opening his eyes. For one, he could see his clothes strewn messily about the floor. Secondly, this was not his room. Finally, there was an arm around his waist that was not his.

Then his head gave a nasty throb. Groaning – and completely forgetting that there was someone next to him – he rolled over, rubbing his head. And came face to face with the sleeping form of Gatrie.

"Gah!" The archer bolted out of the bed. This was a bad idea, as he stumbled from the throbbing, and fell forward onto his knees. "Ugh," he moaned, leaning forward with his arms on the bed. "What a pain," he complained, shaking his head, his crimson locks tossing about his shoulders. Luckily, he knew the headache would fade soon. Thank Ashera for his quick hangovers.

Gatrie yawned widely, stretching, before opening his eyes. "Oh. Up already? Good morning, Shinon." He smiled.

"Wha--- what is… this?" Shinon demanded, scrambling around for his hair tie. No one had really seen him with his hair down, and he was almost embarrassed that Gatrie was now witnessing it with a smile.

"I'm sorry?" Gatrie obviously didn't understand.

"I'm… you're… _we're_ naked!" the redhead nearly shouted, finally finding the black elastic and pulling his hair back in a half-hearted ponytail. "In the morning! In _your_ bed!" He started for his clothes, ignoring the continuing pain in his head. "What the hell happened?"

"Um. You don't remember?"

"No!"

"Oh." Gatrie propped himself up on his elbow, watching the other man in his frenzy. "Well, you were kind of drunk. But you seemed to be aware of what you were doing, so I didn't stop you."

Shinon froze, halfway through pulling his pants on. He felt his stomach flutter, and he became all too aware of an acute soreness in his backside. No. No, this was all wrong. Yes, he had been in love with Gatrie for longer than he cared to remember. Yes, he wanted Gatrie more than anything. But not like this. He wanted the first time to be special; he wanted to remember the first time.

"Shinon?"

"What did we do last night?" the archer demanded, rounding on the other, letting his pants hang loosely on his hips.

Gatrie blushed a little, averting his eyes. "Well, you… we um, y'know."

"Did we have sex?" No answer came. "Gatrie! Answer me!"

"Yes." The blond met his eyes again with his face set, but cheeks pink. "Shinon, you were… I tried to stop you, but you insisted…" There was an apologetic tone to his voice that Shinon couldn't bear to hear.

"No, no, no," Shinon murmured, closing his eyes and falling to his knees at the edge of the bed again, burying his face in his arms. "This is all wrong."

Gatrie hesitated. "Shinon?"

But there was nothing else to do. It happened. The redhead realized he had two options: claim he was too drunk for that to count and continue denying his feelings for the blond or embrace what happened and confess.

"This might not mean much," the blond said softly, reaching out a hand to the other man, "but I love you, Shinon."

Shinon's heart soared. He chanced a look up, showing just his eyes. Gatrie was smiling encouragingly at him.

"Can we do it again?" The archer's voice was quiet. Shy, almost. Hesitant. Not at all like his usual tone. Gatrie knew the other man was blushing, despite not being able to see his cheeks. "I… yeah, I guess I always wanted to sleep with you, but I wanted to remember the first time."

Gatrie laughed, relieved. "Shinon, we can do it as many times as you want," he murmured softly, stroking his head. "Get up here."

With a smile, cheeks clashing horribly with his hair, Shinon stood and climbed back into the bed, pushing Gatrie over onto his back and put his legs on either side of him. "This time, we play by my rules." He smirked, then dove down and kissed Gatrie. Kissed him as though he would die if he didn't. Kissed him so deeply, he didn't notice his pants coming back off, or his underwear, or the swift hands that pulled the black hair tie once again out of place.

"Gatrie," Shinon said softly, running his hands down the man's muscular torso. "For years, I have waited for this moment. I love you."


End file.
